Honestly, the coolest parts of Second Sight are the little touches and completely missable details occasionally sprinkled throughout the game, such the interactable NPCs or the weirdly detailed variety of usable computers often needed to be interacted with to complete levels. Outside of these neat extras however, Second Sight doesn't really offer a fun gameplay loop or the promised thrilling psychological narrative, which makes the entire experience not much more than a bland romp punctuated by weirdly expressive cutscenes.
The demo was king
This game feels a bit obtuse at times, and the controls are kind of odd-feeling. The story is interesting, but it didn't interest me enough to like the game.
Man, what a ride! Really enjoyed playing this game a lot, especially with playing around with the psychic powers. The story was what made me want to keep playing this game because it’s very intriguing and has a lot of mystery to it and unravels the more you progress in the game. There was also a twist reveal later in the story that caught me off guard and actually surprised me when I thought I already figured out before then. Besides the psychic powers and puzzle-solving, the shooting gameplay was also fun. The gameplay and the controls were surprisingly smooth and easy to handle, especially with a Gamcube controller, with only a few minor design flaws that could use more fine-tuning. I’m glad I bought this game thanks to the story that got me invested the whole way through.
I wish Free Radical were still around.
I really wanted to play this, because I found the cover art so fascinating as a child; almost looks like a horror game. It is not, and the slightly cartoonish art style undercuts whatever serious beats the story is trying to hit, but there is no denying that this is a cult classic for a reason.
(Story beats from the first couple of levels are described below, but only enough to hopefully get you interested in the game)
John Vaatic wakes up from a coma, gravely injured with no memory of his past. As he starts to panic, he accidentally unleashes a psychic blast that incapacitates a nearby facility guard. Shortly thereafter, another psychic ability manifests itself, and he heals his wounds. He begins to have flashbacks of a job he had. John consulted a squad of marines whose mission was to track down a Professor Grienko, who was allegedly raising an army of young psychics for the Russians. Back in the present, he finds a computer in the facility he's been held in. The whole squad is dead.
But after another flashback, he looks back at the computer. The screen now says they're merely missing.
As you progress through the game, the story evolves both in the present and in the past. New psychic abilities are gained. And you'll have a fantastic time.
Second Sight was made my the same team as TimeSplitters, one of my favorite series. If you're intrigued by the story (and especially if you like TimeSplitters), I can't recommend it enough.
P.S. THQ Nordic bought the IP to both this and TimeSplitters a few years back, so here's hoping we get remasters soon!
John Vaatic wakes up from a coma, gravely injured with no memory of his past. As he starts to panic, he accidentally unleashes a psychic blast that incapacitates a nearby facility guard. Shortly thereafter, another psychic ability manifests itself, and he heals his wounds. He begins to have flashbacks of a job he had. John consulted a squad of marines whose mission was to track down a Professor Grienko, who was allegedly raising an army of young psychics for the Russians. Back in the present, he finds a computer in the facility he's been held in. The whole squad is dead.
But after another flashback, he looks back at the computer. The screen now says they're merely missing.
As you progress through the game, the story evolves both in the present and in the past. New psychic abilities are gained. And you'll have a fantastic time.
Second Sight was made my the same team as TimeSplitters, one of my favorite series. If you're intrigued by the story (and especially if you like TimeSplitters), I can't recommend it enough.
P.S. THQ Nordic bought the IP to both this and TimeSplitters a few years back, so here's hoping we get remasters soon!
Pretty much just decided to play this because I read it has an amazing twist. Not really a fan of the gameplay but it's nice that they give you several psychic abilities to use. The fixed camera angles are very frustrating since you can't see enemies 10 feet in front of you if the camera is positioned a certain way and you can't aim at them either but they can shoot you. It's pretty much the same as MGS1 but enemy sight lines aren't nerfed to compensate. That aside, the shooting itself doesn't feel good either. The story seemed to be building up well enough but I wouldn't say it was especially gripping, not enough to keep putting up with the gameplay at least.
I wonder what happens in the remaster
Great story and gameplay, but dated controls and graphics.
YOU KNOW, I quite liked the plot, I liked the way it played somewhat.
Yeah the camera is a bit weird, and the dude talks to himself even more than you would see in a parody video
BUT
The visual style has aged so well that everyone in it feels more expressive than today's Uncanny Valley Girls, and you can force-choke a guy and levitate him and unload a machine gun into his torso as a combo.
BUT
The visual style has aged so well that everyone in it feels more expressive than today's Uncanny Valley Girls, and you can force-choke a guy and levitate him and unload a machine gun into his torso as a combo.
This game genuinely blew my mind with its gameplay and mechanics and how it used multiple powers and I never got bored of it. I actually liked its stealth that is not normally my favorite aspect and the story is captivating.
The game gets better as you unlock more powers and unravel elements of the plot, which focuses on mind control experiments and government conspiracy.
My main complaints are the terrible controls and the auto-aim system. This game would benefit greatly from a modern remaster.
If you're playing on PC, check out Peixoto's patch for improved visuals and HUD scaling.
My main complaints are the terrible controls and the auto-aim system. This game would benefit greatly from a modern remaster.
If you're playing on PC, check out Peixoto's patch for improved visuals and HUD scaling.
I used to play this game on Onlive, it was fun but I never ended up finishing it.
I remember playing this around the same time as Psi-Ops - the latter stuck out more for me, with this title being painfully linear and that one more exploratory. That being said, I still think of this game. Hell, I was able to easily conjure the name John Vattic! They did something(s) right for sure.
This review contains spoilers
Interesting hybrid between third person shooter/stealth with psycho power, you have a varied arsenal at you and you can easily take the approach you want... At least during present section... Although it's obviously better to not choose the action approach, the game encourage you to take your time and be creative with your powers. The aim however is fucking weird and it was itself a drag during my playthrough. You also have segments in flashback which unfortunatly choose to be way more action base and during these segments you quickly see how the action approach is tedious as fuck.
Too bad the plot take itself way too seriously depsite being very lame and being poor writting wise (the final twist make me laugh so hard)
Too bad the plot take itself way too seriously depsite being very lame and being poor writting wise (the final twist make me laugh so hard)